Persons and particularly children, suffering from PDD (pervasive development disorder) such as autism and Aspergers syndrome as well as those experiencing ADD (attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibit a spectrum of adverse behavioral and learning deficiencies. Commonly such deficiencies involve slowed development of basic psychological functions, manifestations of unacceptable social skills (e.g., aggression), language and communication deficiencies, and difficulties in motor movement. The disorders which display signs of developmentally inappropriate inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity are symptoms commonly associated with ADD and/or ADHD. Current educational criteria require children suffering from the above to obtain medical attention, where they are prescribed condition-appropriate pharmaceuticals. Also special educational programs involve formal behavior training, typically behavior modification in an attempt to curb impulsivity, distractibility, and other disturbances of language and/or social behavior. Such programs are intended to enhance behavioral, communication, and organizational skills with the object, where possible, of mainstreaming.
Examples of timing/scheduling adjuncts for use in behavioral modification program adjuncts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,233, 6,042,383, and 5,908,301 respectively a wall-mounted, animated timer reward-based game, a portable task reward, programmed timer, and a programmable diet/smoking cessation adjunct with timers and alerts.
One widely acclaimed regimen for implementing a behavioral modification program for persons suffering from the foregoing syndromes and problems is based on timers. The “1-2-3 Magic” program developed by Dr. Thomas W. Phelan is a method for managing and treating behavioral problems employing a prescribed sequence of educator/caregiver reaction to undesirable and/or unacceptable behaviors. In this program, a child is given a series of two warnings before a pre-established “quiet” period (“time out”) is enforced. Such time out is predetermined in both duration and location. For smaller children the duration may be for two minutes in a special chair dedicated to time out. Timers are commonly used for the child to monitor the time out countdown. Where the child exhibits prohibited or non-compliant behavior during the timeout period, the educator/caregiver restarts the timer for the prescribed period. The child is excused from time out only after the period expires and the child has complied, i.e., not exhibited any adverse behaviors.
It has been observed that during the timeout period, children often focus on the timer and the time remaining. Most commonly, the timing device provides an audible alarm when time expires. However, some children are more attuned to visual stimuli and some may even exhibit phonophobia, an aversion to sudden and load sounds, e.g., an alarm clock bell. For this reason, it would be desirable to combine audible and visual alert indicators or selectively, a visual alert indicator to advise the child that the time out period is over.
In the case of a person with substantially impaired hearing or deafness, an audible timer alarm is effective only when coupled with another alert adjunct such as vibratory and/or visual indication.
Over the years many alarm clock/alert/timer devices have been devised for use by the deaf. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,238 describes a multi-station visual signaling system for alerting a deaf person of a particular event (incoming telephone communication, clock alarm functions, etc. Your inventor herein obtained U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,998 (hereafter the '998 patent) for a combination Vibrating and Audible Alarm Clock for use by persons who are hard-of-hearing or for persons in environments in which it is hard to hear (loud). The teachings of that patent are incorporated herein by reference.